George Clooney slams Quentin Tarantino over 'cruel' Paul Dano diss

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‘We are living in a time of cruelty … We don’t need to be adding to it’

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Published Jan 14, 2026 • Last updated 6 hours ago • 4 minute read

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George Clooney attends the 83rd annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2026. Photo by VALERIE MACON /AFP via Getty ImagesArticle content

George Clooney is firing back at his From Dusk Till Dawn co-star Quentin Tarantino after the filmmaker inexplicably launched into a tirade aimed at actors Paul Dano, Owen Wilson and Matthew Lillard.

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Speaking at the AARP’s Movies for Grownups Awards on Saturday, Clooney said he would be “honoured” to work with the trio.

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Clooney said his latest movie, Jay Kelly, was “made by people who love actors.”

“That’s an important part. People I’ve known most of my life… actually, most of them are actors. I have a great affinity (for them), and I don’t enjoy watching people be cruel,” the ER alum said, according to Variety.

“We are living in a time of cruelty,” Clooney continued. “We don’t need to be adding to it.”

In the past, Tarantino hasn’t been shy in sharing his blunt assessment of some of the biggest actors in the industry. In 2023, he slammed Clooney in an interview with Deadline.

“When was the last time that he had a hit in this millennium?” Tarantino asked.

“Quentin said some s*** about me recently, so I’m a little irritated by him,” Clooney replied when he addressed the comments in a 2024 GQ profile. “He did some interview where he was naming movie stars … and then he literally said something like, ‘Name me a movie since the millennium.’ And I was like, ‘Since the millennium? That’s kind of my whole f***ing career.’”

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What did Tarantino say about Dano, Wilson and Lillard?

Tarantino went viral last month when he dismissed Dano for his work opposite Daniel Day-Lewis in 2007’s There Will Be Blood.

As the Oscar winner rhymed off his 20 favourite movies of the 21st century during an appearance on The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast, Tarantino said that There Will Be Blood, which he ranked fifth, would have been higher “if it didn’t have a big, giant flaw in it … and the flaw is Paul Dano.”

Tarantino said Elvis star Austin Butler, who was 16 years old when There Will Be Blood was released, “would have been wonderful in that role,” before continuing to lambaste Dano.

“He is weak sauce, man. He is the weak sister,” the Pulp Fiction director said. “He’s just such a weak, weak, uninteresting guy.”

Tarantino then listed two other actors he’s not fond of: Wilson and Lillard.

After naming Wilson’s 2011 flick Midnight in Paris as his 10th favourite movie, Tarantino declared his deep dislike for the Stick star.

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“Oddly enough, I really can’t stand Owen Wilson. I mean, I can’t stand him,” Tarantino said. “I spent the first time watching the movie loving it and hating him,” he continued. “The second time I watched the movie, I was like ‘OK, don’t be such a prick. He’s not so bad. He’s not so bad.’ And then the third time I watched it I found myself watching him.”

Tarantino didn’t expand on why he disliked Lillard enough to name him as one of Hollywood’s least watchable actors, but the Five Nights at Freddy’s actor addressed his inclusion during a December appearance at GalaxyCon in Columbus, Ohio.

“Quentin Tarantino said he didn’t like me as an actor,” Lillard said as he spoke to the crowd in a video from the event, per Entertainment Weekly. As attendees booed, Lillard continued, “Whatever. Who gives a s***.”

However, Lillard admitted that Tarantino’s bruising public assessment did leave a mark.

“It hurts your feelings. It f***ing sucks,” he said. “And you wouldn’t say that to Tom Cruise. You wouldn’t say that to somebody who’s a top-line actor in Hollywood.”

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On social media, Lillard’s backers were “hella angry” as they leapt to his defence.

Who stood up for Dano and Wilson?

Following Tarantino’s rant, several big Hollywood names rushed to back Dano’s work in front of the camera.

“(I don’t know) man I think Paul Dano is an incredible actor,” Kim’s Convenience actor Simu Liu tweeted.

Matt Reeves, who directed Dano as the Riddler in 2022’s The Batman, also weighed in on X, writing, “Paul Dano is an incredible actor, and an incredible person.”

Ben Stiller, who worked with the Golden Globe nominee on the 2018 miniseries Escape at Dannemora, called the actor “f***ing brilliant.”

The Batman Part II co-writer Mattson Tomlin said he was “pleased to see so many people cheer on Paul Dano.”

No notable names voiced their support for Wilson, but on he had his backers on social media.

“Like him or not, Owen Wilson is smooth on screen,” one fan wrote, with another hailing the Zoolander star as one of Hollywood’s most “underrated” actors.

mdaniell@postmedia.com